The device will be thinner and have a more responsive screen with a sharper picture, the people said, who didn’t want to be identified because the plans aren’t public. The new Kindle won’t include a touch screen or color, they said.

Indeed, when you go to this page for the Kindle 2 on Amazon’s site, you’re greeted with the words, “There is a newer model of this item”.

Of course, that could be a reference to the Kindle DX, the oversized – and more expensive – version of the product. Or, it could be an inadvertent reveal on the Amazon site.

Whatever the case, Amazon’s can’t afford to be Kindle-less for long, considering the iPad juggernaut against which it’s competing. While some folks think the Kindle is actually a better device on which to read books – and they include me – the iPad is the “wow” device of the moment. The next Kindle may not have color or a touchscreen, as Bloomberg’s sources say, but it will need to come with its fair share of “wow” to stay in the hunt.